2 Kings 6:8-22
Those Who Are With Us

Now the king of Aram was at war with Israel. After conferring with his officers, he said, "I will set up my camp in such and such a place."

The man of God sent word to the king of Israel: "Beware of passing that place, because the Arameans are going down there." So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God. Time and again Elisha warned the king, so that he was on his guard in such places.

This enraged the king of Aram. He summoned his officers and demanded of them, "Will you not tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel?"

"None of us, my lord the king," said one of his officers, "but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the very words you speak in your bedroom."

"Go, find out where he is," the king ordered, "so I can send men and capture him." The report came back: "He is in Dothan." Then he sent horses and chariots and a strong force there. They went by night and surrounded the city.

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. "Oh, my lord, what shall we do?" the servant asked.

"Don't be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

And Elisha prayed, "O LORD, open his eyes so he may see." Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

As the enemy came down toward him, Elisha prayed to the LORD, "Strike these people with blindness." So he struck them with blindness, as Elisha had asked.

Elisha told them, "This is not the road and this is not the city. Follow me, and I will lead you to the man you are looking for." And he led them to Samaria.

After they entered the city, Elisha said, "LORD, open the eyes of these men so they can see." Then the LORD opened their eyes and they looked, and there they were, inside Samaria.

When the king of Israel saw them, he asked Elisha, "Shall I kill them, my father? Shall I kill them?"

"Do not kill them," he answered. "Would you kill men you have captured with your own sword or bow? Set food and water before them so that they may eat and drink and then go back to their master." So he prepared a great feast for them, and after they had finished eating and drinking, he sent them away, and they returned to their master. So the bands from Aram stopped raiding Israel's territory.

New International Version

What a delightful story this is of God's provision for Elisha and the nation of Israel, and what awesome power God demonstrated through the befuddlement of an entire army of enemy soldiers! Can you imagine how it must have looked with the old, balding prophet guiding the enemy commanders, horsemen, and foot soldiers right into the center of the Israelite camp? Suddenly, they would realize they were at the complete mercy of the Israelite army--and instead of death, they would receive a feast and be sent on their way!

God chose to act in a unique and highly effective way with the Arameans this time, embarrassing them, and at the same time showing them amazing mercy, so that they left Israel alone after that. The poor, frightened servant who first saw the army of Aram could never have conceived of how God would rescue them! Instead, he needed the comfort of seeing heavenly warriors in fiery chariots surrounding the Arameans. God provided the exorbitant abundance of a army that God never used; their presence was only to show one servant that God could respond to human force with a terrible, divine force. Maybe this helped him remember how God brought a huge victory to Gideon and 300 trumpet players, or to nomadic tribes marching around Jericho, or to a band of fleeing slaves walking through the Red Sea. God has more ways to rescue us and take care of us than we can possibly imagine!

Elisha gave us a verse to carry close to our hearts in difficult times: "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them." The servant must have thought Elisha's answer ridiculous! My mind's eye imagines the servant rushing into the compound yelling warnings to Elisha's students, while Elisha saunters outside, still in a bathrobe and sipping his first cup of coffee. "There are more of us than there are of them," he'd reply, but the servant would glance in all directions at legions of well-armed professional soldiers on the hillsides, and examine Elisha's 100 scrawny theology students, armed with pencils and notebooks. "See?" asks Elisha--and suddenly the servant does!

What an awesome blessing the servant received, having a vision of God's almighty power ready to spring to his rescue! What an awesome promise God through Elisha gave to us, too, that there always are more with us than are with our enemies. God's infinite resources are instantly available for God to use in our behalf--but we must trust God to use them for what is best for us. Just like the servant, we need to be open to the surprise of what God can do, and the double surprise of how God chooses to act. Just like the King of Israel, seeing the Arameans completely surrounded and vulnerable, we need to wait on God's direction for how to respond. Just like Elisha, we need to listen for God's leading, put our faith in God's plan, and act boldly with confidence in God and only in God. The end result will astound us with how magnificent, holy, and loving our God is!